My first end grain cutting board

This is my first end grain cutting board. Its a smaller, cheese size cutting board for my in laws for the holidays. I really enjoyed making it with my new jigs… http://lumberjocks.com/projects/57812, then routed out one side for a small area for your fingers and all the edges are routed with a 1/4” roundover bit. Its finished with 3 coats of salad bowl finish after sanding to 220.

Woods used: curly cherry(I had left over so free wood is the best) and a few pieces of hard maple(also scraps) which are hard to see after applying the oil. Hopefully after the cherry darkens there will be a more noticeable contrast.

I’ll be posting this weekend the remaining gifts for them after I finish them up….A matching set of turned celtic knot bottle stopper, celtic knot bottle opener, and a celtic knot cheese slicer all out of maple and cherry. Also a magnifying glass with possibly lacewood for my wife’s grandma since she is having a hard time reading with her vision going but wishes she could still.

Lew, the celtic knots turned out much better than my first attempt with the pizza cutter i posted. So far though, I’ve only turned and finished the stainless steel bottle stopper(Ruth Niles one sold at Rockler) which looks gorgeous. I wish I made it for myself lol.

Thanks dakremer. If you have a table saw and a hand held router you can do it. I have the crappiest table saw on the market by the way, but the sled made it perform like a high end. Jigs are worth the time if you have some scraps to use.

yeah, I have a couple sleds but I havent made them accurate enough. Plus I just found out that the saw blade is not perfectly in line with the miter slots. Its almost 1/32 off – which is quite a bit. I need to straighten that out first, then build a perfect sled. The other problem I have is that sine the saw is so old it doesnt hold its angle very well. I can keep it at 90 degrees for about 2-3 cuts, then its off by a whole degree sometimes. It sucks. So for now I’m fine with just doing some basic woodworking. When I get more accurate tools, I’ll get into the fine woodworking!

Andrew, I put the board vertically in my front bench vise,clamped a straight piece of wood to both sides for router stability, and plunge routed it out using an edge guide and a rounded fluting bit. Then I rounded it over in the same manner.

Dakremer, that sounds challenging. Can the saw table top be shifted. I’m sure if you posted on here someone could help.

I love it. One of my prized possessions is a butcher block cutting board my friend made for me last Christmas. At the time I hadn’t started making sawdust and was in awe of his skill! Now that I am in my own workshop I want to make some boards for friends and family. Its a gift that is used every day.